They will probably never be built in Japan again, they outsource just like we do from the USA to lower cost countries...I think the 2006 will be a 7 seater with less hood in proportion to overall length, so it will maybe look more van-ish. But I hope it will retain the ruggedness that we all have come to expect from a Genuine Isuzu...Someone posted recently about this including a link to Isuzu in Thailand where they have a vehicle that the 2006 Trooper will be based on...I hope Isuzu exploits its position as maker of the most fuel efficiennt diesels to sell a lot of clean quiet diesel or even diesel hybrids in the USA. The 2006 diesel fuel regulations in the USA will reduce the amount of sulfur allowed in diesel fuel which will allow the Isuzu diesels to get very clean emissions.

(From post 8225)I took a recent trip to the local Isuzu dealership and talked with them about the companys future. They were upbeat about the next few years of Isuzu USA models.They are anxiouxly awaiting the arrival of the GDI (direct injection) Axiom. (Me too!)Here's some info:http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/inter/technology/GDI/page2.htm- - lThis lower-MPG, higher-horsepower engine technology will also be an option on the 2004 Rodeo.The Isuzu dealer also mentioned the proposed 7 passenger, 3rd row seating SUV due out in 2006. It will also have the GDI V6 and I was told it will essentialy be an import of Thailand's "Panther". Whatever they call it, it will fill the gap left by the Trooper.Panther info:http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/product/suv/panther.htmlOther encouraging Isuzu gossip is this article which shows that Isuzu USA won't go away without a fight.http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_isuzus_turnaround/index.htmCool stuff!

I few weeks ago I reported that my pristine 1999 Isuzu Trooper (www.Isuzu.8k.com) got dinged up in a hail storm. My insurance company paid me approximately $3,000 and I decided to just keep the money. Welp, now my insurance company is obviously disappointed that I did not get my Trooper repaired and dropped my collision and comprehensive on the Trooper. They said it will remain that way until I get it fixed. This does not sound fair to me but maybe I am looking at it wrong. Anyone of you have a similar experience?

Hi there,I work for an insurance company (Nationwide). Unfortunately, that is a common practice to drop the comp/coll coverage. Their rationale is that if you get further damage on it from another accident, it will be hard to repair just that damage without touching on the original damage. Most insurance companies don't want to have physical damage coverage on damaged vehicles. Hope this helps!!

How much is it worth? My '99 minivan is getting down there in value (~$9k) and it's not going to take much more depreciation for me to drop my collision coverage. Three grand in my pocket would be enough to convince me to take my chances right now :-).

My rule of thumb is to drop the comp/coll when the vehicle is older or is worth 5k or less. If the vehicle is a total loss, then 2-5k as a hit is much easier to swallow than 10k. Another option would be to have higher deductables like 500 or even a 1000 dollars. That would reduce your premium and you would still keep the coverage for the big losses. On my 98 Trooper which is worth about 8k, I have the deductables at 500. Of course if you have a lienholder, you have to have the comp/coll coverage.

Last I checked there was a device that claimed to somehow fool the computer into thinking colder more dense air was coming into the engine. This was supposed to trick the computer into adding more fuel and therefore allow the engine to get 20 more Hp.

Even if the computer could be fooled the laws of physics can't be - i.e. the air coming in doesn't get colder and therefore denser just because the computer thinks it does. The air actually has to cool down for that to happen.

As they say "If it sounds to good to be true . . . ". Well you know the rest.

pe1227 - how does the insurance company determine a total loss? I've heard they use KBB value and Auto Trader used car values, most people shoot for high book, which would help out the person with the claim.

My truck is worth (kbb) $8500.00 to $10.500.00 however, I've recently got trade in quotes of $6800.00 to $7200.00. What does the average consumer use to come up with a true value to determine dropping the comp & collision? The timing of this topic is perfect, just got my 6 month renewal yesterday:)

It is a combination of factors that determines the value for a total loss. KBB is dealer funded and it is my experience that they are inflated as far as their prices are concerned. Carbook is what my company uses to determine vehicle values, which has been pretty accurate,but it could vary with each company on what they want to use. I use the local paper, Carbook, and Edmunds to come up with values and then I average the 3 to come up with a true market value, but that is my own preference.

If you are arguing with an insurance company about a value of a car, the more documentation you have, showing your values, the better. That is why I use the 3 sources. Hope this helps!

From a consumer standpoint, sometimes it helps to bring in current classified ads of similar cars for sale if the agent doesn't do like Pe1227 does, and sometimes showing evidence of recent repairs can help bump up the value of your wrecked car a little (i.e., engine overhaul or 4 new tires).

Maybe taking donuts to the adjuster would help too? Any rule of thumb for that, Pe1227? LOL.

Thanks pe1227, it was Nationwide that cancelled my collision and comprehensive insurance. If I sold my Trooper to another individual I bet he could get coverage as I have never had an agent inspect my newly purchased vehicle. I can partially understand the comprehensive discontinuance, but the collision seems more like retribution. If I had an accident, it should be obvious what was prior hail damage and what was impact damage. I am toddling between going along with Nationwide or going to another company for coverage. My Trooper, 1999, probably had a pre-hail value of $12K - $15K, so spending that $3K on some cosmetics that I question whether would result in me being satisfied was in question. Few vehicles I have seen repainted are as pristine as before. I am also thinking about buying one of those "dent wizards" and just fixing it myself.

My Trooper is worth far more to me than to anyone else if I sold it. I know how it was maintained and it has all the options. So, I think I will keep it no matter what. In any case, I am not all that sure that Nationwide has been fair with this. I could understand them say inserting special language even disallowing hail damage but to just drop all coverage seems quite severe.

There is another option you could do. You could file a complaint with the DOI (department of insurance). Once you filed the complaint, it would halt the cancelaton of coverage action until it was reviewed by the DOI. They would probably side with Nationwide in all honesty though. It is a standard practice to drop physical damage coverage if a vehicle has not been repaired after a claim has been settled.

1 thing to keep in mind however, If you drop Nationwide and go with another company, they will find out about the damage. All insurance companies particpate in a claims information exchange called CLUE. When the other company ran the records, they would find out about the loss and how much was paid out. That would usually prompt an inspection by the agent. I don't mean to be the bad guy here, just wanted you to know about their policies and actions. Good luck.

Here in NY I bought a used car and it's covered for about $8-10K, never was inspected when I bought it, registered or insured.

On my trooper I had a guy smack into the side of me, paid out $2500 worth of damage to me, and I never had it repaired, my current insurance company never knew about it, and hasn't dropped my coverage, etc.

The reason why I did not have my Trooper repaired is 1) inconvience, 2) that in the past I have had vehicles repaired that were less than satisfactory, 3) that I could live with the damage until I decide what I really want to do, and 3) that it made more economic sense to pocket the money at least for now. The value of my vehicle is definitely less with the hail damage than before and I figured the $3k was fair.

I guess when Nationwide gave me the check for the damage, I thought it was my option where to get it repair and even if I wanted to repair my vehicle. If I went to a body shop for repair today, would the body shop contact the insurance company and report the repair? How about if I purchased a "dent wizzard" tool and repaired it myself - could I then get full insurance coverage? If I get in an accident now and it was my fault, I would feel pretty bad having to take the financial hit all because of politics. In some ways I can understand the insurance companies stance but in other ways I don't - the issue is muddy.

My wife is an agent for State Farm Insurance in Virginia. She says that their policy is the same--if you have physical damage, you lose physical damage coverage until the damage is repaired. This is to prevent the company from having to figure out the value of any subsequent physical damage to the vehicle.

If the damage was repaired satisfactorily, the "dent wizard" would be fine. How it's repaired is irrelevant; that it is repaired is the point.

I don't think it's politics. Insurance is not supposed to be a windfall; it's a contract to put you (generally) back into the same position you were in before the damage.

I have learned that just because you make payments, even if you have been with the company for a long time, it doesn't owe you anything. It only owes you when the policy says it owes you. Nothing more. That often leads to frustration, but insurance is risk-sharing to prevent catastrophic loss; it's not an annuity.

Not to belabor the issue, but what if someone purchases a vehicle with existing damage - say a dented front fender. If he informs his insurance agent of the purchase, do insurance companies inspect or even ask about the condition of the vehicle? Or, do insurance track damage and subsequent repairs by VIN numbers?

Still a further possibility, one that I have personally had happen, is when a vehicle is repaired that it was not done properly. Now a pre-existing flaw exists with the vehicle even though it was supposedly repaired.

I think the reason insurance companies are so 'paranoid' about this is that they have been defrauded by some in the past, and to halt the abuses, honest policy holders have to suffer, as they say in the military, as 'collateral damage'.

A few weeks ago I posted that my sotf indicator (P/T 4wd '98 Trooper S auto)was stuck in flickering mode - as when it transitions either into or out of 4wd. A search of earlier posts site and comments of folks on this Trooper forum encouraged me to try fixing it myself. I ordered the front axle switch unit (Denso dual switch part with 6 vacuum hoses)from St. Charles and installed it yesterday. Light still flickers. When I am under the front end and a friend presses the sotf button to engage 4wd I can hear a clinking movement. When the button is on the engaged position the sotf light (symbol) stays ON. Also, I've tested the vehicle on gravel roads with a friend looking from the outside. When I have the sotf light on and 4wd engaged, I floor the Trooper and no wheels spin, it just accelerates, all 4 wheels getting traction. However, when I disengage and the sotf flickers and I tromp on the loud pedal, the rears and only the rears break loose and throw gravel all over behind me. Also, when in 4wd mode and the sotf indicator staying lit, I can go from 4wd hi to 4wd lo and back, and feel the difference in engine sound and speed. It really feels like I am getting 2wd and 4wd, even though the sotf indicator flickers when in 2wd.Any chance this is something like a bad sensor that is telling the light (maybe even the ECU) that I am still trying to disengage from 4wd, when in fact I have?Maybe I am just trying not to have to go back to Sholz Isuzu again since they screwed up my brakes, and never seem to find anything wrong with anything, just replace parts at high labor rates.Speaking of labor rates and getting the Troop fixed, anyone have a recommendation for a good, reasonably priced dealer repair shop or private shop that knows Troopers, somewhere between NYC (I live in Yonkers)and Margaretville, NY where I go on weekends?ThanksBob

cwmoser - My wife inspects all vehicles that she insures when the vehicle is first insured. I'm not sure about how the process works from there. I suspect that the systems vary, and that there are people who get over.

You are correct that insurance fraud is a huge problem, making it more expensive for the rest of us. Believe me, I have to listen to the stories. Like I said earlier, many people think their insurance is an annuity, and that they "deserve" a payout from time to time because they have paid in for X number of years. Also, many do not understand the concept of a deductible, or at least pretend that they don't understand when they have to cover it.

Like most professions, being in insurance (my wife, not me) is not always pleasant. In the eyes of the public, you are screwing them because an individual policyholder pays in but generally gets no tangible benefit. Selling "peace of mind" is, in my opinion, a lot harder than selling something tangible.

I went to the Isuzu dealer today to find out about my blinking TOD light when I engage it. I was told that it is a bad clutch sensing part, the TOD can't sense the torque to go into TOD. They will order it and it will be here next week and will take 2 hours to fix. This is the first problem I have had in 44,000 miles. While I was at the service dept I heard a girl who had a Rodeo ask about it. They said it had a bad fuel pump and to replace it was going to be $683! She asked why so much and they said that they would also have to replace the sending unit. Boy, almost $700 to get a fuel pump replaced. What kind of bills am I looking at in the future?.

On the 2000 or higher year models that have the drive by wire system, as the Trooper either speeds up or slows down there is a singing sound, like a spring being stretches and relaxed. It seems to unrelated to throttle position, but definitely related to what the engine is doing. Oh, you gotta turn your radio off to be able to hear it. What the heck is that noise and can it be silenced?

If I understood you correctly you are in 2wd until you push the 4wd button. Then you get 4wd. Therefore your only problem is a flickering light.

Sounds to me like some sensor is not working properly. I don't know what triggers the light. I am guessing though that it could be as simple as something in the 4wd switch?, or a limit switch on the 4wd low lever?, or maybe a sensor on the transfer case? Your next step is probably to get a wiring diagram and start checking for bad switches, sensors, and connectors.